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Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has expressed strong disapproval regarding the continued tenure of West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford. Speaking to Times Radio, Streeting described Guildford’s refusal to resign as “a stain on his character.” This reaction follows Guildford’s apology for submitting incorrect evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, particularly concerning the denial that artificial intelligence had been used in a report which contributed to the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters attending a match at Aston Villa.
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has also conveyed that she no longer has confidence in Guildford. This statement came after the release of a “damning” review from the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Andy Cooke, which condemned what was seen as a significant “failure of leadership.” Streeting remarked that given Guildford had misled both Parliament and the public, and faced a loss of support from local MPs including the Home Secretary, he expected Guildford to resign immediately out of integrity.
The controversy stems from a policing watchdog’s preliminary review that highlighted confirmation bias in the force’s intelligence processing. This bias played a role in the decision to prohibit fans of the Israeli football club from attending a game at Villa Park last November. Sir Andy Cooke’s report revealed multiple inaccuracies were passed on to Birmingham’s safety advisory group, including a mistaken reference to a fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham, a match that never occurred. Guildford originally told MPs that these mistakes were discovered via a simple Google search or social media checks, but later admitted in a letter to the Home Affairs Committee that an AI tool had been responsible for the erroneous information.
In his apology, Guildford emphasized, “I would like to offer my profound apology to the committee for this error.” He explained his previous belief that the information had been obtained through a Google search was sincerely held and not intended to mislead the committee. Additionally, West Midlands Police have expressed regret over the findings and pledged to dedicate efforts toward restoring public trust. Guildford now faces an upcoming meeting on 27 January with Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, who holds the power to dismiss him from his role
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